Grandson #1

 

Grandson Number One

With both front teeth missing, creating a huge open space,

With a smile, ear to ear, and the wind in his face,

My grandson rode by on a bike with ease,

With no training wheels, to him it was a breeze,

It was his first attempt, and he mastered it well,

A grand milestone, a new story to tell,

He is accomplishing all the goals a young lad will do,

He is experiencing adventures, all shiny and new,

I guess you could say, he is growing up fast,

A soon-to-be big brother of two, having a blast,

He is kind; he is smart and living his best life,

In my wisdom, I would give him this advice:

Stay young at heart, never grow old, and…

Your relationship with Christ is more precious than gold.

Tammy Harvey

5/01/2024

Keep a Watchful Eye

 

A Watchful Eye

Keep a watchful eye on life, signs are being given,

Subtleties that occur, I believe they are from heaven,

At the very least, they are reminders of a loved one, who has passed,

Time may heal the heart, but memories, they last,

Yesterday, I was driving along, not really going far,

On three occasions a bright red cardinal flew in front of my car,

If I had not been aware, I would have missed this precious sign,

Little messages from above, that are so deeply sublime,

He was saying “I am here with you, please remember me”,

I was thinking “there you are, I didn’t forget, your sign I clearly see”,

 Songs are playing in the store sometimes, noticeably not by accident,

Purposefully, they evoke in me a beloved memory, divinely sent,

There is excitement on my granddaughter’s face and exuberant delight,

When she sees a portrait of her grandfather visibly in her sight,

Although he passed a few years before she was even conceived,

It is as if that they have met before, she recognizes him, I believe,

After all, my daughter-in-law had a vivid dream before her pregnancy,

Where her dad handed her a baby girl, this is not all fantasy,

Call me crazy, I find great comfort, in looking for the signs,

You may also find solace, if you are so inclined,

Keep a watchful eye on life, signs are being given,

Subtleties that occur, I believe they are from heaven.

Tammy Harvey

4/15/2024

Wolf Lodge

 

Wolf Lodge

There were children racing down the halls waving wands with lights,

On a quest, no less, at a paradise of fun, from morning to night,

An indoor waterpark, made to thrill young and old,

Was packed with adventure and excitement uncontrolled,

I had never been to something such as this, in my 64 years,

Now I’m engrossed in the thrill and wearing wolf ears!

The Great Wolf Lodge was a new experience for me,

Even though my grandson had been there when he was three!

A variety of slides, pools and water activity awaited us there,

The large twisting slides gave me a scare,

Lazy river, wave pool, hot tub was more my speed,

But I did step out of my comfort zone, indeed,

I took the challenge to ride on the slide with my son,

To prove I was not going to spoil all the fun,

Once I did that, my courage was inflated,

So, I stepped up to try the surfing simulator,

I guess you could say I didn’t wipeout,

Because at the top is where I hung out!

It was not easy to catch the wave,

But I tried anyway, because I was brave?

Brave or crazy, that is debatable,

The entire experience is totally relatable,

One of my favorite sites to watch was a ginormous tipping bucket,

Periodically dumping copious gallons of water on those who didn’t duck it,

It was a day to remember; I won’t soon forget,

I haven’t gotten the water out of my human ears, yet!

Tammy Harvey

3/29/2024

A Chance Meeting

 

A Chance Meeting

We went on quite an adventure to Williamsburg, V-A,

Learned a lot of historical facts too along the way,

But one of the highlights of our trip was on an elevator,

Meeting a famous couple; I’ll tell you who, later,

A chanced meeting, only going from G to the first floor,

The introductions began with the opening of the door,

The man was 95 and using a cane to walk,

His wife was 93, and she began to talk,

“What is your name?” she cordially asked of my grandson,

When he said “Charlie”, the conversation had begun,

She replied, “his name is Charlie too”, pointing to the man,

His last name is “Brown”, believe it if you can,

“You are meeting the original Charlie Brown”, she boasted,

With a smile proudly on her face, our full attention she hosted,

But she had another bit of information hidden up her sleeve,

Which was the figurative cherry on top, I truly believe,

She said, “My name is Pat”; Just like that,

“But you can call me Peppermint Patty”,

She announced: “We are Charlie Brown and Peppermint Patty!”,

We knew she had probably shared that story before,

But we were honored and will remember it forevermore,

Chance meetings can be a big part of a trip,

Especially when they are characters from a notable comic strip!

Tammy Harvey

3/13/2024

A Swim Down Memory Lane

 

Swim, Baby, Swim

Did you ever take lessons to learn how to swim?

I did, at the YMCA, and I still remember them,

I was probably seven years old, and it was an indoor pool,

During the winter, while we were still in school,

We were required to wear bathing caps back then,

We learned to tread water and to dive in,

We were taught to go to the bottom to retrieve a penny,

Holding our breath until we didn’t have any,

It seemed like miles to the bottom, and ear pressure was real,

Accomplishing these tasks was a really big deal,

We learned all the swim strokes after a while:

Breaststroke, back stroke, side stroke, and freestyle,

We were taught all of the kicking techniques:

Frog kicks, scissor kicks, flutter kicks, with constructive critiques,

Our lessons were thorough; we were very well-trained,

That’s a nice little swim down memory lane,

Nearly six decades later, I watch my granddaughter learn,

She is only 8 months old and it’s hard to discern,

How a small baby like that can have no fear,

She loves the water and does not shed a tear,

She is learning to float, to go under and recover,

What a wonderful skill for a baby to discover!

Tammy Harvey

3/2/2024

Aerial Yoga

 

Challenging yet Rewarding

This is 2024,

And I just turned 64,

I wanted to try something new because, well, “yolo”,                 

I think I was having a case of severe “fomo”,               

So, I signed up for an aerial yoga class,

Praying it would not kick my a**,

Yoga, I’d done before, but that was last decade,

I was hoping afterwards I wouldn’t need first aide,

Facing the unknown, I showed up, yoga mat in tow,

Not sure if I was strong enough, but willing to give it a go,

A beautiful pink silk fabric I chose, hanging gracefully like a sling,

Made a lovely first impression, as we sat in it like a swing,

It got more challenging as we began to learn to hang inverted,

But I did what I could do and with each class I got more asserted,

The stretching and decompression of my body was of great benefit,

It was difficult, yet rewarding, and the satisfaction was legit,

I completed the course of four classes and felt quite accomplished,

Some younger students in the class were completely astonished,

It felt good to try something new, out of my comfort zone,

In fact, if I had to describe it with an emoji- my mind was blown!

Tammy Harvey

3/1/2024

For my older readers:

yolo = (you only live once)

fomo= (fear of missing out)

The Perfect Family Reunion

 

The Family Reunion Photograph

Why do I have a black-white panoramic photograph of a 1953 family Reunion hanging on my wall?  I don’t know any of these people.  I only know it was the Annual Blue Clan Reunion held in Lakeview, NC on June 28, 1953.  This information is printed clearly on the corner of the photo.  I was in awe of it the moment I saw this gem at the thrift store where I purchased it.  The memories it invokes are priceless.  First, I was surprised by the high quality of the image and secondly, the fact the photograph was panoramic in that day and time.  It was a Sunday afternoon, and the photo was taken outside amongst a clump of tall pine trees.  Everyone is wearing their Sunday best.  There are all generations of people in this photo.  Some are holding cups and/or plates.  There are lots of lovely hats and dresses amongst the matriarchs. Some are wearing pearl necklaces, and the hairstyles are very predictable. Many of the older men are wearing neckties or bowties with a few sporting fedora style straw hats.   The little children are in the foreground. The boys are dressed in collared shirts and the girls in summer dresses.  In the background there are three cars parked beneath the pine trees.  A closer look reveals a long table with tablecloths and an abundance of food hidden amongst the group.  I am so enamored by this photograph.  The nostalgia of 1950’s fashion, the simplicity and the love of family are all represented in this image.  I did a quick count and estimated that there are 200 people in this photo.  It is an amazing feat to assemble so many people together who are related to each other.  No cell phones and no internet were involved.  Only 9 percent of households had a television set in 1950, however, two thirds of households had at least one telephone.

It was the perfect day…truly.  June 28 is considered the perfect date. Why?  It is because both 6 and 28 are mathematically perfect numbers.  A perfect number’s divisors add up to themselves.

For instance, the number 6 has factors of 3,2, and 1 which add up to six.  Twenty-eight has factors of 14,7,4,2, and 1 which add up to 28.  No other date on the calendar has that distinction. In fact, there are only two more perfect numbers, 496 and 8,128 that occur between 1 and 1 million.

So, when I say it was the perfect day, it was the perfect day for a family reunion on June 28, 1953.

Tammy Harvey

2/17/2024